Maid-Rite

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Maid-Rite Corporation
Type of Company	Private
Founded	1926
Founder	Fred Angell
Headquarters	Urbandale, Iowa
Industry	Restaurant
Website	maid-rite.com

Maid-Rite is one of America's first quick service casual dining franchise restaurants. Before it became a restaurant chain, it was a single restaurant, opened in 1926 by Fred Angell. By the end of the 1920s, there were four franchises granted; these four restaurants are still in operation. Maid-Rite Corporation's CEO and president is Bradley L. Burt. The corporate headquarters are located in Urbandale, Iowa. As of April 2006, Maid-Rite has over 70 locations, located in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. The location in Marshalltown, Iowa was featured on the PBS special Sandwiches That You Will Like.

[edit] History

Angell was a butcher in Muscatine, Iowa, who combined a special cut and grind of meat with a selected set of spices and created the Maid-Rite sandwich, which is not a traditional hamburger. Rather, it is called a "loose meat" sandwich. While the component meat is similar, the Maid-Rite sandwich's meat is not formed into a patty, making it similar to a sloppy joe only without the tomato-based sauce. After a customer sampled the food, the customer exclaimed that the sandwich was "made right." Angell modified the "made" to "maid," reflecting the wholesomeness of the sandwich.

Angell opened his first restaurant in Muscatine, which was a walk-up restaurant. Later, a new eat-in building was opened. Along with his son Francis Angell, a second restaurant was opened that featured a "car hop" or drive-in service. This was the first such service of this kind in the United States, with A&W Restaurants and White Castle Restaurants following this type of service shortly thereafter.

The first franchise was opened in Durant, Iowa. Maid-Rite began to grow in the number of franchises throughout the United States under the direction of William Angell, the grandson of the founder. The Angell family would have controlling interest in the franchise until 1984, when it was sold to a partnership of Clayton Blue, a farmer from Russell, Iowa, and John Gillotti, a contractor from Des Moines. (The original Maid-Rite restaurants in Muscatine were sold to Gary Kopf, a local businessman who also operated vending companies, family restaurants and bakeries.) Blue had plans to expand the chain into a worldwide operation and sell stock to the public; however, after Blue defaulted on the contract to buy Maid-Rite, Gillotti purchased the chain outright in 1988. Gillotti died in 1991, prompting a legal battle between Blue's family and Gillotti's heirs over ownership of the chain. After an injunction was issued by the Polk County District Court in 1992 that prohibited any new Maid-Rite franchises, the Gillotti family was awarded ownership of the 138-store chain in 1995. However, issues with franchise fees and product quality led to a number of restaurants closing; by 2002 the number of Maid-Rite stores had dropped to 83.^[1]

In 2002, an investor group led by former Des Moines banker Bradley Burt purchased a majority interest in the Maid-Rite chain, with the Gillotti family retaining an interest. While up to 20 longtime franchisees left Maid-Rite during the first two years of its new ownership, Maid-Rite began to use computerized systems to control expenses, started offering ten-day courses on how to prepare Maid-Rite food to new franchise owners, and created a new uniform decor for its restaurants that retains the nostalgia of the Maid-Rite brand. According to the Des Moines Register, Maid-Rite has a ten-year plan to open more than 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States.^[2]

[edit] References

^ "Maid-Rite Timeline", Des Moines Register, 2006-11-12.
^ Elbert, David. "Maid-Rite Chain's Comeback Is Cooking", Des Moines Register, 2006-11-12.